How do I...?

Notable Oregonians: William Clark - Explorer

William Clark, of the Corps of Discovery, was born in the
same area of Virginia that was home to his co-captain,
Meriwether Lewis. Clark learned about wilderness skills and
natural history from his older brother and at the age of 19
began a military career in the Kentucky Militia. He later
joined the regular army and was promoted to lieutenant.
Ensign Meriwether Lewis was among men assigned to Clark. The
two struck up a lasting friendship that would lead to their
co-commanding the Corps of Discovery.

The Louisiana Purchase in 1803 led to the need to
explore, document, and consolidate the claim of the United
States to the vast territory. President Thomas Jefferson
groomed Meriwether Lewis to lead the expedition and Lewis
sought out Clark to share the leadership. While less
educated than Lewis, Clark was an excellent cartographer.
His maps from the expedition included notes on a variety of
subjects such as native botanical and zoological specimens
and potential mineral deposits. The party spent a long and
wet winter in the general vicinity of the mouth of the
Columbia River in Oregon before returning east. The
accomplishments of the Corps of Discovery played a
fundamental role in understanding the nature and inhabitants
of the West and laid the groundwork for future
expansion.

As a reward for his service, President Jefferson awarded
Clark 1,600 acres of public land. In 1813, he was named
Governor of the Missouri Territory until the state of
Missouri was created in 1820. Although he was defeated in
the first election for state governor, Clark continued to
hold his Brigadier General of Militia rank, and to serve as
the Superintendent of Indian Affairs. Throughout the
remainder of his life, he retained the respect of Native
Americans, traders, and trappers. They regularly brought new
information to him that he used to update his master map of
the West, a map that graphically displayed the fast-changing
face of an expanding nation. Clark died of natural causes in
St. Louis on September 1, 1838.

Commemorating the bicentennial of the 1804-1806 expedition, celebrations
ran from 2004 to 2006 in cities and historic sites along the Corps of Discovery's
route.